Okay, all you out there who hate to do laundry, listen up!

I just found out about a new way to clean your jeans! Gone are the days of actually washing them…you know, in a washing machine, with soap and water. Washing is outdated…old school…ancient history, and it uses too much water. If you want to be hip and cool and a friend to the earth, freeze your jeans instead.

Yep, according to the internet, you can save yourself a lot of trouble (and save the earth!) by throwing your favorite denims into the freezer instead of the washer. Supposedly, it kills the bacteria that cause odor so you can wear them over and over and over again. Eventually you actually have to wash them, but not as often, so you have more time to enjoy life! Isn’t that liberating?

But alas, although some people are happy to try any new thing that saves them time, other people are not as easily sold. Skeptics (such as scientists and moms) point out that although freezing can kill bacteria, it doesn’t always kill it all, so as soon as you take them out of the freezer, surviving bacteria will go right back to work, smelling things up. 

Also, it isn’t always bacteria that make jeans smell bad. If you got sprayed by a skunk, or got gasoline or cow manure or afterbirth on your pants, you will stink. And no matter what the internet claims, freezing isn’t going to do much about it. Besides that, who wants to put their stinky jeans in beside the ice cream?

I read several opinions from several leading scientists who all said that freezing jeans is probably not the best way to keep them sanitary. I also discussed it with some of my friends who agreed, “That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.” 

So although it would be nice to find a way to avoid washing your pants as often, you’d better just grit your teeth and do it. And try not to whine too much. After all, you’re not using a washboard.